Raiders Owner Al Davis is scheduled to appear at a U.S. Tax
Court hearing on July 10 to appeal a deficiency notice claiming
that the Raiders failed to pay federal income taxes "at the
proper time" on $10M the team received in '87 from Irwindale, CA
-- a deposit on promises to build a stadium. Team attorney Barrie
Engal said the government is contending that what was
characterized by Irwindale and the Raiders as a "loan" to the
team should have been reported as taxable income on the next
corporate return, but that the team "was two years late in
reporting it as income and paying taxes on it." Xavier
Hermosillo, a negotiator of the '87 agreement between Irwindale
and the Raiders: "The issue is very clear. It was either a
payment, a gift or a loan. Davis reported it as a loan. Was it
ever paid back? The answer is no. It is income" (Kenneth Reich,
L.A. TIMES, 6/30).
NINERS PROTEST: In San Jose, Nancy Gay reports that the
49ers will protest the Raiders move to Oakland "every way they
can" during an NFL special meeting on July 14. 49ers President
Carmen Policy said that he is going to "play devil's advocate" as
the league's owners consider the details of the lease agreement
that Davis has signed. Policy: "I'm not sure it will (easily)
go through -- unless the membership can be convinced that Davis
is committed to Oakland for the duration of the 16-year lease
agreement with the Oakland Coliseum" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS,
6/30).
DONE DEAL: Malcolm Glazer's purchase of the Bucs for $192M
is "expected to be closed" today at NationsBank's HQ in
Charlotte. It is the largest franchise sale in the history of
sports (Pat Yasinskas, TAMPA TRIBUNE, 6/30).
